Judge Greg Girard Guidry of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM Artists Sue SEC in Preemptive Lawsuit Over Whether NFTs Are Securities
"The SEC has gone beyond what people traditionally think of as investment contracts or securities, and they have now started encroaching into the art world, just because the art in their previous cases happened to be digital," Jason Gottlieb, a partner at Morrison Cohen, said in an interview.
July 30, 2024 at 12:47 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
What You Need to Know
- Two nonfungible token artists have filed a complaint against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- An attorney for the artists said the SEC bypassed Congress without authorization to expand the reach of SEC v. Howey.
- An expert not involved in the matter said he does not believe the standards set forth in Howey are intended to include a straightforward sale of art-based-NFTs without additional rights that would liken such a purchase to an investment contract.
Two nonfungible token artists have filed a complaint against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, asking a federal district court in New Orleans to clarify whether NFTs fall under the jurisdiction of Wall Street's largest regulator as unregistered securities.
David Patrón, a partner at the Am Law 200 firm Phelps Dunbar in its New Orleans, Louisiana office, and Jason Gottlieb, a partner at Morrison Cohen in its New York office, represent the plaintiffs, law professors Brian Frye and Jonathan Mann, against the SEC.
Jason Gottlieb, a partner at Morrison Cohen. (Courtesy photo) NOT FOR REPRINT
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